Nuestro Padre
by fleurily
Summary: Three of twentyfive for 24xmas. The Noah Family attends church.


December church services were often the only religious programs attended by the majority of the Noah family, especially in the case of sermons. The Family had a lovely seating area all to themselves, a spacious box in the front of the church with screening along tops of the sides to avoid curious stares and distractions from the other attendees in surrounding compartments. They filed in with their lovely Sunday clothing, the twins crammed into matching trousers and dress shirts, guns confiscated to ensure good behavior, while Tiki calmly settled into his suit as he always did. Lulubelle had been ordered into an appropriate shirt and skirt, and Rhode was as adorable as ever in one of the black dresses she had been wearing to church for several months.

Thirteen family members and the Earl seated in a hardwood box, hymn books in hand and ready to be used at a moment's notice. They certainly didn't attend Catholic services, but the church was old enough to have crypts beneath it. Tiki swore he could smell the dust of the dead floating about the chapel, a strange smell of bone that made the room all the more intimidating. The Vatican was like this, on a much grander scale. Rhode and Tiki had gone to those hallowed enemy cathedrals one night when the girl couldn't find sleep. Dead men in glass coffins lined the walls, and blood came from beneath the grates along the base of the Basilica walls along with the water that came bubbling from the wells under the streets. There were screams hidden in the past, present, and future of that Church. The pleasure of Noah found it chilling in these walls; God crept in through the cold of stone to greet his servants with ancient songs and scriptures. Tiki wasn't sure he preferred this form of communion. He would much rather experience the Lord through the heat of a beating heart slipping between his fingers. A soft sigh, the adjustment of his hair with those same deadly hands as he glanced at the docile little girl seated beside him. She seemed happy enough, a soft smile on her face as she listened to the words of the priest echo in the chamber. At least someone was enjoying this.

The twins were busy playing some kind of poking game, passing it back and forth and occasionally trying to pass the poke on to Lulubelle or someone else before moving back to doing it between themselves. Jasdero and Debitt obviously had no interest in the service, and everyone knew the only thing keeping them from acting on that nasty little habit of destroying everything in sight was the threat that their guns would be taken away on a permanent basis if they did so. On occasion they would whisper amongst themselves, giggling silently at some inane item they had gleamed from the sermon or the behavior of the rest of the Family. Lulubelle had her eyes closed, napping quietly yet discreetly. Tiki was moving his fingers carefully, seeming to practice some sleight of hand as his eyes followed the quick motions. He snarled softly as a dress shoe kicked into his shin across the box, eyes glancing up to glare at the delighted Debitt.

Rhode was a docile little thing, seated between Tiki and the Earl with an air of detachment. The perfect angel in the box, her black hair sleek from a hundred strokes of a brush and a fresh washing that morning, a soft glow of happiness seeming to surround her. Cream cheeks were rosy with the heat from beneath their seats, tiny feet shifting every so often to keep the blood moving. Her little hands were folded neatly in her lap, nails perfectly manicured bits of purple-black. Blue eyes looked in the direction of the pulpit with a strange expression behind their glassy surfaces, betraying nothing of her thoughts but a vague emanation of joy. Jasdero paused, considering tossing something at her before Debitt deterred him with a soft elbow to the ribcage. Nothing good would come of irritating Rhode in church; He'd certainly attempted it before, but he remembered the fight they'd had when they'd returned home. He really didn't want to have Tiki pulling a candle out of his arm again, or Jasdero's. It had hurt like a bitch.

This church was not like those in Rome, Rhode thought. The scent of age was covered well with the musty lavender of incense, a wafting taste of sleepy comfort and homey acceptance. Something larger than everything embraced her in this place, in silent moments of prayer and contemplation. Each Sunday the Earl led her through these doors for an hour and a half of early morning religious inspiration, and every time she was here she found a mental peace that she couldn't remember experiencing anywhere else. Words of prayer echoed across the vaulted ceiling, whispers of hope and affirmation weaving a mantle meant to rest upon the blessed shoulders of those seated within these holy walls. It was like a second home, but God was her father here and there was no distraction from his voice. Though she certainly gained pride from the praise of the Earl, the sense of accomplishment these holy places bestowed upon her was more than enough lauding for her. The work of God was only ascertained through constant dedication, after all. The Earl never ceased to remind her, and eventually the spite of being lectured had worn away to realization with the creation of each Akuma, each new sacrifice at her hands.

She was chosen for greater things than the life of a high society woman. There would be no housework in her future, no arranged marriage to some dirty old man of class and social standing. Rhode Kamelot would spend her days in the freedom of the Noah family, and though it seemed to many that she hadn't a care in the world, her prayers each night included a soft thanksgiving for the life she had been blessed with. She had so much to be grateful for; a caretaker who loved her, and siblings who cared for her despite their eccentricities and irritating habits.

_Our Father, who art in heaven,_

_Hallowed be thy name._

_Thy kingdom come, thy will be done_

_On earth as it is in Heaven._

_Give us this daily bread…_

Tiki reached out carefully as she softly sighed, placing gentle fingers on her folded hands in something like reassurance. Her blue eyes opened, looking up into the tender brown of Tiki's own with a startled air. A soft smile crept over his lips at her expression, the hand moving up to pet her hair affectionately before settling around her shoulders.

Rhode leaned against his side with a sound of contentment, ignoring the jibing snickers of the twins. There was only one month a year when she could share this place with Tiki, and she planned on enjoying every moment of it. His deep voice rumbled against her ear as he spoke the final lines of the prayer, her own soft soprano joining his in the final word:

"_Amen."_


End file.
